Panthers, Maple Leafs set for Game 7 on Sunday
SUNRISE, Fla. – There will be a Game 7.
Missing out on a chance to punch their third straight ticket to the Eastern Conference Final, the Florida Panthers couldn’t find the goals they needed in a 2-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday.
So far, the series has been anything but boring.
First, the Maple Leafs raced out to a 2-0 series lead.
Then, the Panthers won three straight games to go up 3-2.
Now, the series will be decided with a final game on Sunday in Toronto.
“At the end of the day, we were down 2-0 in this series, so we would’ve loved a Game 7 and this opportunity,” said forward Matthew Tkachuk. “We’re not going to sit here and pout about it. It’s an opportunity to make a name for ourselves again. We enjoy these games and enjoy these moments.”
In the first period, the road team had the juice.
Even with two power plays for the Panthers, the Maple Leafs entered the intermission leading 7-2 shots on goal thanks to a handful of high-event shifts in the offensive zone.
“Their penalty kill was really good,” Tkachuk said. “They were blocking a lot of shots. Our power play has to be a lot better, and that’s mainly on us five that play the majority of it. We’re just pretty slow making plays, not making them when they’re there. Just some decisions that we don’t normally make. We’ve just got to get back to the basics.”
The biggest moment of the period came when Sergei Bobrovsky kicked out his left pad to deny Matthew Knies on a backhand shot from the doorstep to keep the early tie intact.
After trailing 13-8 in scoring chances in the first period, the Panthers were the aggressors in the second, finishing with a 13-4 edge in scoring chances while firing off 33 shot attempts.
As it has been all playoffs, they were also up to the task on the penalty kill.
During Toronto’s two power plays in the middle frame, Florida allowed just three shots.
Overall, the Panthers believe they needed to be more decisive with the puck despite piling up shot attempts.
“I thought we were late getting it off our stick,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “I thought we were waving the gun a lot, but didn’t want to pull the trigger on a few.”
Breaking the ice in the third period, Auston Matthews took advantage of a turnover and fired a shot from the top of the left circle that slipped past Bobrovsky to make it 1-0 at 6:20.
Giving the Maple Leafs some breathing room a bit later, Max Pacioretty went to the net on a 2-on-1 and fired a pass from Bobby McMann into the cage to make it 2-0 at 14:17.
From there, the Panthers kept pushing but couldn’t get the puck past Joseph Woll, who finished with a 22-save shutout.
As they have done so many times before, it’s all about rising to the occasion now.
“There’s six teams left, and they’re all capable of getting into a Game 7,” Maurice said. “Sometimes it’s just the way the puck bounces for ya. That tension is part of the Game 7. It’s about as honest a game as you’re going to find. There’s no cheating in that game.”
THEY SAID IT
“I think we’ve got to start looking for more sticks. We’ve got some great scorers and great shooters in here, but they’ve got some great defense and obviously a great goalie right now. Not many times at this point of the season are you going to beat guys clean.” – Matthew Tkachuk on breaking through Toronto’s defense
“Both teams played pretty well defensively. There’s not a lot of time and space out there. We’ve just got to learn from it and move on. Reset, recover and get ready for the next one.” – Jesper Boqvist on bouncing back in Game 7
“We’ve played Game 7’s before. We’re not going to show any video of those Game 7’s. We’ll look at our game tonight and see where we can get better.” – Paul Maurice on his team’s experience in Game 7’s
CATS STATS
– The Panthers trailed 13-6 in high-danger shot attempts.
– Seth Jones owned a team-high 78.26% share of shot attempts at 5-on-5.
– Sergei Bobrovsky made six high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
– Aleksander Barkov won a team-high 10 faceoffs.
– Jesper Boqvist logged a team-high eight hits.
– Florida led 58-35 in hits; Toronto led 31-10 in blocked shots.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Someone is going home.
In need of their best road game of the season, the Panthers will try to eliminate the Maple Leafs in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
To find a place to watch the game in South Florida, click HERE
